MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry hears from guests about the implications of the Zika virus outbreak for women in countries that have limited access to reproductive health care.
Citing the suspected link between Zika and a birth defect resulting in brain damage, Harris-Perry explains that some Zika-affected Latin American countries have issued guidelines "directed primarily at women" that advise against pregnancy. This message "has turned the Zika emergency into a question over women's reproductive rights in Latin America, where [unintended] pregnancies are widespread and where contraception options are limited for millions of women," Harris-Perry states, adding that many affected nations ban or severely restrict abortion care.
Paula Avila-Guillen, a program specialist with the Center for Reproductive Rights, says the pregnancy prevention warnings are "really empty," citing barriers to contraceptives and noting that the warnings "are only made to women," implying men are not responsible for pregnancy.
Further, Alexander Van Tulleken, senior fellow at the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs at Fordham University, says, "I think what we have in this disease is a perfect storm of problems for women." He added that "if you just talk about the abortion issue, we're talking about more than four million illegal abortions ... which are very dangerous and disproportionately affect [low-income] women" (Harris-Perry, MSNBC, 2/6).
